Charles Rasp

Charles Rasp ( born October 7, 1846 in Cannstatt, † May 22 1907 in Adelaide ) was a German expatriate who first recognized the economic importance of the deposits in and around Broken Hill in Australia.

He was originally from Stuttgart - at that time the Kingdom of Württemberg -, went to school there and operating some studies in the field of chemistry. Later he emigrated to Australia because of health problems. There he held various jobs in rural cattle stations, he had taken on the Mount Gipps station, the last of such employments, which was directed by George McCulloch. ( Coulls, 1976 and Camilleri, 2006).

In September 1883, he discovered the sheep counting the minerals and formations, how they should be typical of Broken Hill. He teamed up with local entrepreneurs David James and James Poole and leased a surface on which they abteuften a small bay. Although the first analytical results had been disappointing, they made undaunted and were helped by other colleagues who also worked on the Mount Gipps station and formed up for the ' Syndicate of Seven '. George McCulloch and Charles Rasp secured other sections throughout Broken Hill and called it originally Wilyu - Wilyu -yong (Curtis, 1908).

They prospected for tin, but the analyzes showed only a weak content, but for traces of silver (Curtis, 1908).

It was only in 1884 or early 1885 they were able to promote rich silver, which the company under the name of BHP powerful mood of buoyancy and the leased land were systematically developed. Rasp was assigned to a separate section and treasury shares and five years later he was a rich man. ( Coulls, 1976). Then he moved to Adelaide, where he married remained the mining until his death in 1907.